Photo Gallery: Best Space Station Cupola Views

Space-faring humans have called the International Space Station home for 10 years now, but the orbital laboratory only recently got a window worthy of its stunning views.

The Cupola (pronounced "kyoo-pel-ah") is a seven-paned geometric dome that boasts the biggest spacecraft window ever: a central, circular pane with a 31-inch diameter. Combined with six other trapezoidal windows, the device offers a nearly unimpeded view of space and the big blue marble zipping by 220 miles below.

Since Feb. 15, 2010, astronauts, cosmonauts and others armed with ridiculously huge cameras and lenses have documented the Cupola experience.

Here we offer the best shots taken from, and of, the module windows so far.

Italy

Sicily and the Italy’s distinctive boot shape, along with the Mediterranean Sea, are clearly visible in this shot taken from the Cupola on Oct. 28, 2010. The Soyuz spacecraft appears at the bottom left. Yellowish air glow at Earth's geodesic boundary highlights the thin atmosphere secured by our home planet's gravity.

Cairo

Florida

Florida, the home of Kennedy Space Center — where U.S. astronauts launch to the International Space Station — glows like a beacon in the night. The Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean are also visible. At the top, you can see a piece of Georgia state.

Gulf Coast

Mobile, Alabama, as well as New Orleans (just above the Soyuz spacecraft in front of it) show up well in this shot taken from the Cupola. Cities such as Jackson, Shreveport, Dallas and Forth Worth stand out along Interstate 20 and, at left, so do Little Rock and Oklahoma City.

Special Delivery

Multicolored tape enshrouds the Cupola's seven window panes in a clean room at Alenia Spazio in Turin, Italy, before launch. In addition to captivating views of Earth, the Cupola allows astronauts guiding robotics to see their work in progress.

Spacewalk

As the Earth zooms by below him, astronaut Nicholas Patrick of the STS-130 space shuttle crew finishes removing insulation blankets and bolts from the Cupola's window panes in this February 17, 2010 photo.

Soichi Noguchi

Kazakhstan

The space station’s constantly shifting S-shaped path over the Earth allows astronauts and cosmonauts to peer down at most areas of the planet. Here, the Syr Dar’ya River floodplain in Kazakhstan meanders across the region. Dark areas are brush, highlighting the river's snaking behavior over time.